These days, it's not assumed that a woman will take her husband's surname when they tie the knot, and many are keeping their own.

When a woman chooses not to take her husband's surname after marriage, people perceive her husband as being higher in traits related to femininity and lower in traits related to masculinity. He is also perceived as having less power in the relationship. This is according to a study led by Rachael Robnett of the University of Nevada in the US. The research is published in Springer's journal Sex Roles and is the first to examine whether people's perceptions of a man's personality vary depending on whether his wife adopts his surname or retains her own.

Increasingly, women are keeping their surname when they get married. But they remain a minority, and some researchers suggest the social costs of bucking tradition may explain why.

A new initiative looks to reduce gender and minority gaps in STEM classrooms. Rachael Robnett, a University of Nevada-Las Vegas psychology professor, discussed two major barriers preventing women and other underrepresented minorities from succeeding in STEM.

New research published in the journal Sex Roles examined how women who choose to keep their own surname after marriage are perceived in the United States.

In news that will probably surprise absolutely no one, new research has shown that women who don’t change their names when they get married are perceived by other people to be much less committed to their marriages than those who do are.

In the context of equal rights, it has been possible for women since 1976 in Germany to choose their own last name at a wedding ceremony to the family name. Scientists from UNLV have now conducted a study in the United States examining how women who keep their maiden name are seen by their fellow humans.

A new study of college students reveals that, despite many feminist ideas becoming more mainstream, we’re still punishing women for not changing their name for heterosexual marriage. The study, which questioned far more women than men, showed undergraduate students think women who don’t change their names weren’t as committed to their spouses.